Our Story
Built from love. Designed from necessity. Made for every woman who knows what it costs to keep showing up.
The Woman Behind Wink Silk
My name is Erin Wise. I'm the founder and Creative Director of Wink Silk.
I didn't set out to build a luxury silk brand. I set out to survive — and somewhere inside that fight, I found something I needed to make.
I was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, CLL, with a high-risk molecular profile that meant standard "watch and wait" wasn't an option. My care team moved to targeted chemoimmunotherapy, and alongside it, I was living with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) — a condition where your own immune system treats ordinary things, fabric against your skin included, as a threat.
Every night, what I slept on mattered in a way it had never mattered before. Synthetic fibers, harsh dyes, unknown chemical finishes — all of it was a variable I couldn't afford. I went looking for a silk pillowcase that could tell me, honestly and specifically, what was actually in it. I couldn't find one I trusted. So I decided to build it myself.
Why the Specification Is the Whole Point
Wink Silk exists because "silk" on a label isn't a specification — it's a marketing word. Here's what we actually build with, and why each piece of it was a non-negotiable for me:
- Grade 6A mulberry silk — the highest available grade, with minimal fiber variation, chosen for surface smoothness against reactive skin.
- 25-momme weight — dense enough to hold up to the frequent washing my treatment required, without losing performance.
- GOTS-certified organic (Certificate No. GOTS-16032) — a verified, audited chain of custody from fiber to finished product, free of the synthetic pesticides and chemical finishes most likely to trigger a reactive immune system.
- OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified — independently tested against harmful substances, not just at the finished-product level but through the full supply chain.
- Charmeuse weave — the weave structure that delivers the lowest-friction surface for hair and skin overnight.
This isn't luxury for the sake of luxury. It's luxury in its most honest form: the best available material, made the right way, verified rather than claimed.
The Other Half of This Story
I can't tell Wink Silk's story honestly without telling you about Cooper.
Cooper Wise is my husband and Wink Silk's Chief Momentum Officer — the person who built every piece of the technical and marketing infrastructure that makes this brand run. But that title doesn't capture what he actually is to this company, or to me.
Cooper has his own story of being rebuilt from the inside out: a rare congenital heart condition as a child that required experimental surgery, four sleep apnea surgeries, a 135-pound weight loss, and years of sobriety after recovering from addiction. He's a Screen Actors Guild member, a musician, and a father of five. His personal philosophy — Momentarianism, or momentary living, with the tagline Stronger by Design — is built on the belief that we're shaped most completely by the moments that nearly break us.
Cooper and I have been together more than 25 years. While I was managing infusions, immune panels, and MCAS flares, Cooper was building the infrastructure that let me build something of my own — brand architecture, supply chain, manufacturer relationships, certification sourcing. He didn't build it for me. He built it with me.
That's the marriage behind this brand. We think it shows.
Who We Built This For
Wink Silk is for the woman who has learned, sometimes the hard way, to ask what's actually in the things that touch her body. She may be managing a chronic illness, a sensitive skin condition, or simply a low tolerance for products that overpromise and underspecify. She doesn't want a story. She wants a certificate number she can verify herself.
The Founding Collection
Our first release is the Douceur™ Doublure pillowcase, in our founding colorway, Coy™ (Pantone 7499C) — 330 hand-numbered pieces, never restocked in this exact run. Wink Privé members get early access on September 16, 2026; the collection opens publicly September 17.
Every piece carries the same specification, verified and on file: 25-momme, GOTS-16032 certified, OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified, Grade 6A mulberry silk, charmeuse weave. You can see the full certification detail on our certifications page, and the complete terminology behind these specs in our silk glossary.
Our Promise
We will always tell you the specification before we tell you the story. We will never publish a certification we don't hold on file. And we will keep building this, together, one honest piece at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who founded Wink Silk?
Wink Silk was founded by Erin Wise, who serves as Founder and Creative Director, alongside her husband Cooper Wise, Chief Momentum Officer. Erin developed the brand while undergoing treatment for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) and managing Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), after being unable to find a silk pillowcase with verifiable, non-toxic material sourcing.
Why did Erin Wise start a silk brand while sick?
Erin's CLL treatment and MCAS made her acutely sensitive to synthetic fabrics, dyes, and chemical finishes. Unable to find a silk pillowcase brand that could verify its full chain of custody, she began developing Wink Silk's specification and sourcing herself, working with GOTS- and OEKO-TEX-certified manufacturing partners.
What certifications does Wink Silk hold?
Wink Silk products are GOTS certified (Certificate No. GOTS-16032) and OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified, verifying an audited chain of custody free of prohibited pesticides and harmful chemical finishes. Full certificate details are available on the certifications page.
What is the Wink Silk founding collection?
The founding collection is the Douceur™ Doublure pillowcase in the Coy™ colorway (Pantone 7499C) — 330 hand-numbered pieces. Wink Privé members receive early access on September 16, 2026, with public availability opening September 17, 2026.
What does "Stronger by Design" mean at Wink Silk?
Stronger by Design is Cooper Wise's personal philosophy of momentary living, or Momentarianism — the belief that character and resilience are built by the moments that nearly break us. It informs the honesty-first approach behind Wink Silk's specifications and storytelling.